Pg. 8
“Our Policies
We require all our Suppliers, and factories involved in the manufacture of goods to be sold in our stores, to comply with our Ethical Trading Policy.
Code of Conduct In addition to the 3rd party audit requirement all suppliers are required to sign documentation confirming their factories compliance with Matalan Sourcing Policy and commit to meeting our Code of Conduct as a condition of doing business with us. Key clauses in relation to Modern Slavery are:
1. Employment is freely chosen
1.1 There is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour.
1.2 Workers are not required to lodge "deposits" or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.
2. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected
2.1 Workers, without distinction, have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.
2.2 The employer adopts an open attitude towards the activities of trade unions and their organisational activities.
2.3 Workers representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace.”
Pg. 9
“Our Suppliers of goods, their factories and any associated 3rd party partners within our Supply Chain are also required to comply with our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy for Suppliers which demonstrates our zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery.
We also ensure that all new contracts with franchise partners and key suppliers of services include contractual obligations to comply with our policy here: Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy for Suppliers”
Pg. 12
“Serious non-compliance issues are categorized into zero-tolerance and critical issues:
- Zero-tolerance issues include child labour, forced labour, life threatening health & safety conditions and repeated or systematic abuse. Finding a zero-tolerance non-compliance issue means an urgent engagement with a supplier and immediate pause placed on the business with that supplier.
- Critical issues include serious employment issues, serious health & safety and/or environmental issues. Finding these issues can result in rejecting a new factory or lead to enforcement actions with existing suppliers.”